Rick Perry - Trans Texas Corridor Plan

Last Updated: Jul 22, 2011

Summary

The Trans-Texas Corridor is a series of highways, rails, and pipelines proposed by Governor Perry to aid in the flow of traffic through the state and solve many other logistics concerned with the flow of goods. Governor Perry proposed the idea in 2002 and the idea has been fraught with criticism since it's inception. Opponents maintain that the highways further erode the nations ability to secure its border with Mexico, and that the ability of cargo to move freely into the United States brings up a number of security issues. The use of eminent domain laws to acquire land for a system to be built by private contractors who would then charge tolls to make a profit, also led to complaints. The large size of the system also led to environmental complaints.

Announcement of the system

On January 28, 2002 Governor Rick Perry announced the creation of the Trans Texas Corridor plan. The plan consisted of a series of corridors which linked the freeway and infrastructure systems of major metropolitan areas with highways, pipelines, and railways. The corridors were to consist of six highway vehicle lanes - three in each direction - and six rail lines - three in each direction. One rail line would have been dedicated to high speed commuter rail, one to high speed freight rail and one dedicated to short haul regional rail, which could have served as the backbone of a local commuter rail system serving all Texans. The governor emphasized that his Trans Texas Corridor plan will involve the construction of rail lines at the same time roads are built. The corridors also will have easements for petroleum, natural gas, electric and telecommunications lines.

The plan was touted as doing the following:

improving the state's transportation needs
moving the transportation of hazardous materials out of urban population centers
reducing air pollution
significantly improving opportunities for economic development and job creation in Texas

Governor Rick Perry Unveils 'Trans Texas Corridor' Plan
Will Make Travel Safer, More Efficient; Reduce Pollution; Attract Business; Create Jobs
Monday, January 28, 2002 • Press Release
Gov. Perry Announces TETF Investment in At-Home Macular Degeneration Monitoring Technology
AUSTIN - Governor Rick Perry today unveiled the "Trans Texas Corridor" plan, a fiscally responsible and innovative transportation blueprint that will:
improve our state's transportation needs,
move the transport of hazardous materials out of urban population centers,
reduce air pollution
and significantly improve opportunities for economic development and job creation in Texas.
The Trans Texas Corridor incorporates toll and non-toll roads, high-speed freight and commuter rail, water lines, oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines, broadband and other telecommunications infrastructure in the same corridors.
With population projections showing that Texas could grow from 21 million residents today to 50 million over the next few decades, Perry stated that planning for tomorrow's transportation needs is essential.
"We need a transportation system that meets the needs of tomorrow, not one that struggles to keep up with the needs of yesterday," Perry said. "The Trans Texas Corridor will map out a brighter future for Texas. It is a plan to ease traffic congestion and increase the safety and security of Texans living in crowded cities and suburbs, near congested border crossings, and in our smallest communities in rural Texas."
The Trans Texas Corridor plan utilizes innovative and fiscally sound funding methods that will allow the state to construct the system with a minimal expenditure of public money. Those measures were approved by the Texas Legislature and by Texas voters last year. Through Exclusive Development Agreement authority, Toll Equity, Regional Mobility Authorities and the Texas Mobility Fund, Texas can use increasingly tight state and federal funds to partner with public and private entities to design, build, operate and manage the innovative system - without new taxes.
"The Trans Texas Corridor plan also will help Texas reduce air pollution and lead to better stewardship of our natural resources," Perry said. "Improved infrastructure will provide unprecedented opportunities for economic growth, creating jobs and luring businesses to Texas because of a superior, safe and efficient transportation system."
While exact routes of the transportation corridors have not been selected, Perry said that they will generally parallel many existing highway systems. The Corridor will link with existing interstate systems, three existing regional transportation systems, as well as major ports of entry in Laredo, El Paso, Brownsville, Corpus Christi and Houston. He has asked Texas Transportation Commissioners to finalize a plan by this summer.
The corridors will consist of six highway vehicle lanes - three in each direction - and six rail lines - three in each direction. One rail line will be dedicated to high speed commuter rail, one to high speed freight rail and one dedicated to short haul regional rail, which could serve as the backbone of a local commuter rail system serving all Texans. The governor emphasized that his Trans Texas Corridor plan will involve the construction of rail lines at the same time roads are built.
The corridors also will have easements for petroleum, natural gas, electric and telecommunications lines. By locating the infrastructure in the corridors, industries will be able to increase public safety by gradually moving their lines away from neighborhoods and population centers. At the same time, Texas businesses, citizens and residents of rural communities will have increased access to water utility lines, petroleum pipelines, natural gas pipelines, electric lines, communication lines and other public resources.
When all segments are completed, the system will provide approximately 4,000 miles of roads, rail, water lines and lift stations to transport water from border to border, broadband, oil and gas pipelines, and electric utilities. Perry said construction could begin as early as this year. Construction of the entire plan, which will extend all across Texas, is expected to take at least 25 years to complete.
The Trans Texas Corridor also improves the state's ability to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks or other disasters by creating hazardous material routes outside major cities, and by providing transportation alternatives that make it more difficult to paralyze the state's infrastructure.
The use of four funding mechanisms will provide maximum leverage of taxpayer dollars by allowing the Texas Department of Transportation to enter partnerships with private companies and other public entities that want to help build the transportation system.
With Exclusive Development Agreements, state transportation officials can immediately begin to negotiate with public or private sectors to develop corridors anywhere in the state.
TxDOT also can use Toll Equity to jump start some construction projects by providing seed money for toll road financing. Through loans and grants allowed under Toll Equity, Texas will be able to generate billions of dollars needed to invest in the future.
In addition, TxDOT has the authority to approve Regional Mobility Authorities to create partnerships with fast-growth urban areas to finance and immediately begin construction of improvements to regional transportation projects that complement and support the Corridor.
The Texas Mobility Fund creates the framework for TxDOT to dedicate general revenue funds to bond construction of some projects. Although voters overwhelmingly supported the creation of the Texas Mobility Fund, the Legislature did not appropriate money for the fund last session. While some segments of the corridor are more suited for EDAs or Toll Equity projects, others will be better suited for funding as Mobility Fund projects.
Perry said he recognizes the concerns of rural property owners whenever road construction is mentioned and emphasized that the Trans Texas Corridor "will serve as a new lifeline to our more rural communities, providing economic opportunity through a fast, safe and reliable transportation system and providing access to public resources necessary to prosper."
"It is important to remember the Corridor right-of-way and assets - without exception - will be owned by the State of Texas," Perry said. "This represents the best opportunity we have to move people, freight, water, oil and gas, electricity and communications more efficiently to the benefit of rural and urban Texas alike. Instead of various entities trying to obtain separate easements and overcome separate obstacles, right of way is acquired just once, maximizing investment dollars and minimizing disruption to the state's landscape."

Plans Move Forward

In June of 2002, Governor Perry released a statement noting his support for the progression of the Trans-Texas Corridor plan through the budgeting process.

Statement Of Gov. Rick Perry Regarding Adoption Of Trans Texas Corridor Action Plan
Thursday, June 27, 2002 • Press Release
Perry Announces Plan to Accelerate Interstate 69
“The Texas Transportation Commission today has taken a significant step toward making the Trans Texas Corridor a reality. When I laid out the corridor concept earlier this year, I asked the commission to look at new ways of planning and building to address the problems we now face on congested roads and highways.
“The action plan that’s been developed confirms that while large in scope and vision, the Trans Texas Corridor is feasible and necessary for the future of our state. From the family traveling across town to the trucker moving goods across the state, today’s action is good news and provides a clear signal that we are moving toward making our roads safer, more efficient and better prepared to handle a growing population.”

Speech on Trans-Texas Corridor

On January 28, 2003 Governor Perry gave a speech on the merits of the Trans'Texas Corridor.

Gov. Rick Perry Speaks on Trans Texas Corridor
Tuesday, January 28, 2003 • Speech
Gov. Perry Re-Issues Disaster Proclamation for Threat of Extreme Wildfires
For the next several minutes, I ask you to forget everything you know about the transportation system of our state and concentrate on looking at transportation from a different perspective. There are four critical transportation problems in Texas: traffic congestion on every major highway, hazardous material moving across our busiest highways and through the middle of our urban areas, air pollution in our industrial centers, and reduced economic activity because of the transportation obstacles businesses face. None of these problems will be solved if we keep expanding our state transportation system the same way on top of the same congested corridors.
Today, I am unveiling a new plan that will map out a brighter future for Texas. It is a plan to ease traffic congestion and increase the safety and security of Texans living in crowded cities and suburbs, near congested border crossings, and in our smallest communities in rural Texas. It will reduce air pollution and lead to better stewardship of our natural resources. It will create hazardous material routes outside of our crowded cities, improve the movement of electricity, telecommunications and water, and provide more transportation alternatives in the event of a disaster. And it will provide unprecedented opportunities for economic growth for all Texans, whether they live in rural, urban, developed or underdeveloped areas of the state.
Consider for a moment where we are and where we are heading over the next few decades. On this map, you will see our current transportation system. The roads are in black and the rails are in red. Note how many of our most traveled roads and most used rails go right through the heart of our urban centers and industrial areas. Now consider how we will expand our transportation system over the next 50 years if we build the same way on many of the same corridors. Our planned expansion of roads is in black and we have no plans to expand rail. Planned expansion is mostly over the same corridors through the heart of our urban centers and industrial areas.
Now consider the federal high priority corridors we will construct over the next 75 years. These corridors are in blue. Again you will see no plans for rail, just more plans for roughly the same routes. According to the State Demographer, our population could grow from 21 million today to more than 50 million over the next few decades. And all of us, plus those 29 million new Texans, are going to be driving our cars along the same routes you and I drive today if we keep expanding in the same way on top of the same corridors. I cannot imagine how we will avoid further traffic congestion, a major hazardous material disaster and ever worse air quality under these circumstances. And I cannot imagine how our economy will prosper if we stay on this path. We need a transportation system that meets the needs of tomorrow, not one that struggles to keep up with the needs of yesterday.
If you will look at this map, you'll see my blueprint for the Trans Texas Corridor. The Trans Texas Corridor is not merely an extension of the current system, but the beginning of a whole new way of planning and building a transportation system, utilizing new tools and new ideas in a much more efficient way. The Trans Texas Corridor will be located parallel to, but well away from, our most congested highways, and in some of our underdeveloped regions, it may expand upon current corridors, or be adjacent to them. When finished, the Corridor will include six vehicle lanes, three in each direction, with plenty of room to expand with our population. And the Corridor will include six rail lines, three in each direction: one dedicated to high speed commuter rail, one dedicated to high speed freight rail, and one dedicated to commuter and freight rail as the backbone of a regional rail system serving all Texans.
The Corridor will provide every Texan and every Texas business access to water utility lines, petroleum pipelines, natural gas pipelines, electric lines, communication lines and other public resources we can’t even imagine. And when finished, the Corridor will provide every Texan and every Texas business access to a fast, safe and reliable transportation system. The Corridor will link, and complement, our existing interstate system and our three successful regional transportation systems: The North Texas Tollway system, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit network and the Harris County Toll Road system. The Corridor will link our major ports of entry, El Paso, Laredo, Brownsville, Corpus Christi and Houston to destinations all across the nation and around the world. It will create business opportunities in cities and towns situated near the Corridor, places like Dallas, San Antonio, Victoria, Bryan, Tyler, and San Angelo, they will find themselves benefiting from increased commerce, as will smaller towns in regions all across Texas. And I believe it could provide an unprecedented opportunity to expand ties with Mexico. As an example, we know Mexico has surplus oil, and Texas has surplus electric power. Mexico needs our electricity and we need their oil. The corridor will provide the opportunity to efficiently exchange resources. That’s just one possibility.
This plan is as big as Texas, and as ambitious as our people. Texans deserve nothing less. This plan cannot be finished overnight, but thanks to innovative and fiscally sound legislation passed last session, and approved by the voters last fall, and a Transportation Commission willing to be innovative and think “off the map,” we can get a good start today. We now have four new tools that will make this corridor a reality. First, we have the seamless contract and construction option called the Exclusive Development Agreement, a process which allows the Texas Department of Transportation to immediately negotiate with public or private sector organizations to design, build, finance and manage transportation corridors anywhere in the state. Second, we have the leverage power of Toll Equity. Toll Equity allows TXDOT to contribute money for toll road financing. Previously, toll projects could only receive a loan, which often made financing impossible. With a limited amount of state dollars provided through toll equity, toll projects will then be able to attract additional private sector investment. Third, the Texas Department of Transportation can now approve Regional Mobility Authorities to create partnerships with fast-growth communities and regions to finance and immediately begin construction of improvements to regional transportation projects which complement and support the Corridor. Fourth, we can work together with you next session to dedicate general revenue to support bonds from the Mobility Fund, providing additional leverage to build transportation projects important to the state.
In addition to using these tools, we know many Texas communities have locally funded economic development corporations that invest in economic stimulus for their area. In some cases, local public works departments have funds budgeted for water transmission or distribution. Additionally, high-speed rail opens the door for capital investment funds from the federal government, funds never before used by the State of Texas. Allow me to share with you one hypothetical example of how the tools I mentioned can be put to work immediately. Let's say that the leaders of the Harris County Toll system take a look at this map and decide the loop around Houston and the direct connect to the Port is good for Houston and good for the state, but they do not have the authority or the financial strength to build the Corridor all the way to Laredo. Meanwhile, the owners of Lone Star Construction Company take a look at this map and decide that based on expected traffic volumes and toll revenues, the Corridor from Houston to Laredo could be profitable. The experts with the toll system and the experts with the construction company get together, form a team and propose the completed financing, construction, and management concept known as an Exclusive Development Agreement to the Texas Department of Transportation. TXDOT looks over the concept, looks over the long range plans already made for this area, and determines the concept is worthy of public consideration. TXDOT invites competing proposals to deliver the same concept. After a period of time, if no better proposal is made, TXDOT negotiates a contract with the team to authorize the project. During the contract negotiation TXDOT determines it could blend 200 million dollars a year during construction in Toll Equity with the finance package proposed by the team and acquire the right to 15% of the tolls collected when the project is opened to the public. The tolls collected from the project could then be re-invested in expanding the entire corridor. TXDOT agrees and the project is off and running as a complete corridor, not one piece at a time as we do today.
How do I know this can be done? Because we have two proven success stories in our state: The North Texas Tollway Authority and the Harris County Toll Road Authority. If it can happen in Dallas and Houston, it can happen in the rest of the state. And as long as commuters have free alternatives, a voluntary toll system is our best option to build transportation projects faster. With the likelihood of federal highway funds being decreased, this proposal is even more important to Texas. The legislation we passed has built-in protections and safeguards to ensure this plan moves forward on a rational, fiscally responsible basis. The legislation allows only four Exclusive Development Agreements. We restrict the leverage option of Toll Equity to about $500 million per year to ensure adequate revenue to support the operation of our current highway system and expansion into areas of the state not directly served by the Corridor. And the legislation requires TXDOT to review and approve the first project of any Regional Mobility Authority, and to approve projects funded by the Mobility Fund.
Let me touch on three more issues in regard to the Corridor. First, I am always sensitive to the concerns of rural property owners. When finished, the Trans Texas Corridor will serve as a new lifeline for our more rural communities, providing economic opportunity through a fast, safe and reliable transportation system and providing access to public resources necessary to prosper. Second, it is important to remember the Corridor right of way and assets - without exception - will be owned by the State of Texas. This represents the best opportunity we have to move people, freight, water, oil, gas, electricity and communications more efficiently to the benefit of rural and urban Texas alike. Instead of various entities trying to obtain separate easements and overcome separate obstacles, right of way is acquired just once, maximizing investment dollars, and minimizing disruption to the state’s landscape and its property owners. Third, I want to make one thing absolutely clear: my vision is pouring concrete and building rail side-by-side, not roads first, and rail when we get around to it. I will be asking the Texas Transportation Commission to develop an action plan based on new routes, and new ways to plan and build for our future. I will ask Chairman Johnson to finish the plan by this summer. I will ask him to identify specific portions of the Corridor upon which we can begin. I will ask him to recommend how we can minimize the impact on the environment, to project how best to use the four tools now available to us, and to specify what other legislative tools are necessary to deliver a complete Corridor.
Some might ask, “is this too big?” I say nothing is too big for Texas when our economic security, our environment, and our quality of life are at stake. The Trans Texas Corridor will improve economic security for Texas. It will increase safety on our highways by relieving congestion and by taking hazardous transport vehicles out of our city centers. It will lead to a cleaner environment by expanding low-emissions alternatives - like rail - by lowering the concentration of emissions in our cities, and by significantly increasing pipeline safety. This new corridor maximizes private sector resources while effectively leveraging public resources. I believe the citizens of our state are ready for a new way to plan and build a transportation system along a new route, and I am here today to say, “I am ready to lead the way.”
Thank you, I would be happy to take your questions.

Editorial

In July of 2004, Governor Perry wrote an editorial discussing the trans-Texas Corridor and the benefits that such a system would bring to Texas.

Governor Rick Perry’s Trans Texas Corridor
Thursday, July 22, 2004 • Editorial
Over the next 30 years, demographers predict Texas’ population will double from 21 to 42 million. That tremendous population boom will bring with it corresponding traffic congestion problems requiring new transportation infrastructure.
Traditionally, Texas has expanded its transportation system along existing corridors – at an agonizingly slow pace and at great expense and great inconvenience to residents and employers. But in areas of high growth or high freight traffic, it is more cost effective to establish new transportation corridors. This is why I worked with legislators to create a new way to build needed infrastructure called the Trans Texas Corridor.
The Trans Texas Corridor will ease traffic congestion and increase the safety and security of Texans living in crowded cities and suburbs, near congested border crossings, and in our smallest communities in rural Texas.
Using this new blueprint for transportation, we can build brand new corridors parallel to, but away from, existing infrastructure, and build it cheaper and faster with no tax increase. Private consortiums will bid on the design and construction of large segments of the corridor, and infuse projects with private capital to ensure infrastructure is built much more quickly than projects are built today. Revenue from tolls will repay private investment and be used to finance the construction and expansion of additional segments of a corridor. And motorists who choose not to pay tolls will still be able to use adjacent roads for free, including the routes they drive today.
When the Trans Texas Corridor is completed, Texas will be connected by several thousand miles of roads with separate lanes for passenger vehicles and trucks. The corridor will also include rail lines for high speed passenger and freight rail, and a 200-foot wide dedicated utility zone for the safe transmission of water, petroleum, natural gas, electricity, and data.
The Trans Texas Corridor will alleviate congestion in two key ways. First, it will allow cross-state traffic an alternative route around existing urban centers, thereby reducing traffic in metropolitan areas. Second, the corridor will include a fast, safe, and reliable rail system which will allow Texans and Texas businesses to utilize rail instead of roads, which is also great for our environment.
Since the goal is to move people and goods quickly, commercial development alongside the corridor will be limited. Not only will this prevent congestion, but urban sprawl and the unnecessary erosion of open space. Limiting commercial access will also ensure that job creation and economic development continue in nearby cities, not along the corridor.
By connecting our major ports of entry with our urban centers, the corridor will link Texas businesses to trade partners across the nation and around the world. Imagine what a high speed road, rail, and utility corridor connecting southeast Texas and the Port of Beaumont to the rest of the state would do for that region’s economy.
The corridor will also provide safe hazardous material routes for trucks, trains, and pipelines around our cities, rather than right through the center of them. And it will reduce air pollution in our urban centers by decreasing the number of vehicles on Texas roads.
These opportunities are before us today because Texas voters overwhelmingly approved the tools to create the Trans Texas Corridor. And the Texas Department of Transportation has held hearings in every county seeking local input. At this point in time, bids are being considered for major segments of the Trans Texas Corridor, and construction is not too far off in the horizon. That also means Texans and employers can know safer, faster and more convenient travel is possible in the not too distant future. The alternative of more congestion, more pollution and longer waits on our highways is unthinkable. If we refuse to do things differently and continue to finish highway expansions about the time when the next expansion is needed, jobs and opportunity will head somewhere else.
But I wasn’t elected to do things the same way. I was elected to make positive change. The Trans Texas Corridor is a major part of that vision.

Acceptance of Cigna Contract

In December of 2004, Governor Perry released a statement noting his support for recent decision to allow Cigna to be the contractor for the first phase of building. Cigna is a Spanish contractor.

Statement of Gov. Rick Perry on Trans Texas Corridor
Thursday, December 16, 2004 • Press Release
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today issued the following statement on the decision by the Texas Transportation Commission to accept the proposal of Cintra, an international group of engineering, construction and financial firms, for construction of the first segment of the Trans Texas Corridor from Mexico to Oklahoma.
“Today’s action by the Texas Transportation Commission will go down as one of the most significant days in the history of transportation. Three years ago next month, I presented the most visionary transportation plans this state has ever seen. Not only will the proposal presented by Cintra move the Trans Texas Corridor from concept to reality, it likely will forever change the way we build roads in Texas.”

Expansion of Cigna Contract

In March of 2005, Governor Perry released a press statement noting the contracting between Cigna and a San Antonio construction company.

Gov. Perry Announces Development Agreement for Trans Texas Corridor
Friday, March 11, 2005 • Press Release
AUSTIN - Gov. Rick Perry today announced that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Cintra-Zachry consortium have signed a comprehensive development agreement to begin planning for construction of the first segment of the Trans Texas Corridor, which will parallel Interstate 35 from San Antonio to Oklahoma.
Under the agreement, Cintra-Zachry will create a master development plan that will include a list of specific transportation facilities that could be developed, an overall project schedule and a financial plan. The development plan will be completed in 12 to 15 months and must be approved by TxDOT.
"This development agreement is a significant step toward a better, more reliable transportation system that will move commuters and cargo faster and more safely, and create greater economic opportunities for our families and employers," Perry said. "In Texas, we're not waiting on others to lead or innovate, and we're not going to accept a future marred by gridlock and growing pollution problems."
Cintra, an international engineering and construction firm, and San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corporation previously agreed to provide $7.2 billion for construction of the first six segments of the project at no cost to taxpayers.
"The Trans Texas Corridor will allow needed roads to be built faster, and ultimately cheaper, without any tax dollars being expended up front for construction," Perry said. "And beyond providing a new method to move people and goods faster, the Trans Texas Corridor is a huge jobs program that will put 140,000 Texans to work as we build the first six segments."
Perry also noted that landowners on the eventual route will receive fair compensation and a unique chance to participate in corridor proceeds, much like royalty payments paid to landowners who have oil and gas wells on their property. Perry also pledged that the public will have a thorough opportunity to continue giving their input as the route is determined, environmental factors are considered and the price for driving on the corridor is set.
"Just as the interstate highway system was an essential element to the growth and prosperity of our economy over the last 50 years, the Trans Texas Corridor will greatly expand the economy of the next fifty years," Perry said. "It is truly vital to creating jobs, wealth and opportunity because it will better connect Texas to trading partners, and ensure the reliable movement of people and products in our time-sensitive economy."
Perry said that the state would continue to make improvements to I-35 and other highways as needed, and roads that are toll-free today would remain toll-free in the future

Corridor Plans

The Trans Texas Corridor was the largest engineering project ever proposed for Texas. The corridor would far exceed any public works project in the state’s history. This statewide network of priority corridors will stretch 4,000 miles and measure up to 1,200 feet wide.

Each segment of the corridor would contain:

Six 12-foot Passenger Vehicle Lanes (80mph); 112-feet in aggregate width with shoulders
Four 13-foot Truck Lanes; 84-feet in aggregate width with shoulders
Two Tracks for 200mph High-Speed Passenger Rail. (All depots are contained within the corridor)
Two Tracks for 80mph Commuter Passenger Rail
Two Tracks for 80mph Freight Rail
A 200-foot Utility Zone for large underground water lines, natural gas and petroleum pipelines, telecommunication cables and overhead high-voltage electric transmission lines
Operational Maintenance Zone
Safety Zones sufficient to accommodate future roadway expansion.

Four priority corridors were identified in the initial proposal. Those corridors parallel:

I-35, I-37 and I-69 (proposed) from Denison to the Rio Grande Valley
I-69 (proposed) from Texarkana to Houston to Laredo
I-45 from Dallas-Fort Worth to Houston
I-10 from El Paso to Orange

The priority corridors account for about half the total 8,000 miles of the Trans Texas Corridor. Connection between the corridor and nearby cities would be accomplished with the existing highway system. Proposed corridor segments will require interconnection with additional modes of transportation to enable passengers and freight to reach their final destinations in nearby cities. Privately funded franchises or public-private partnerships will provide transportation from the corridor to destination cities. The map below shows a conceptual depiction of the system as it was conceived in June 2002.

HB 2702

In June of 2005, Governor Perry released a statement noting legislation that he had signed a transportation funding bill relating to the Trans-Texas Corridor.

Gov. Perry Signs Transportation Bill into Law
Also Announces $20 Million in Funding for Temple Highway Project
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 • Press Release
TEMPLE –Gov. Rick Perry today signed into law the major Transportation Bill of the 79th Texas Legislature, House Bill 2702. The legislation clarifies existing law and offers greater protections for property owners. He also announced that the state is providing $20 million in funding to complete the Northwest Loop, which will help meet the transportation needs of thousands of families in the Temple area. “These funds will help get traffic moving, and they are just a part of our broader commitment to improving and expanding existing roads,” Perry said. “When I first proposed the Trans Texas Corridor, my goal was to give Texas a world class transportation system that moves people and goods faster and safer, and today Texas is taking a significant step to bring state law into accordance with what my vision for the Trans Texas Corridor has been all along,” Perry added. “I am proud to sign HB 2702 into law because it will add greater protections for private property owners, expand Texas’ ability to build needed transportation infrastructure and ensure that roads that are toll-free today will remain toll-free in the future.” An essential part of the overall Texas transportation vision is the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC), an innovative plan that allows Texas to leverage the resources of the private sector to build roads, railways and pipelines faster and cheaper using less overall land than traditional methods of expansion. Private investors have already agreed to pay $7.2 billion to build the first segments of the Corridor stretching from San Antonio to Dallas without any upfront costs to taxpayers for construction. “As the Corridor idea has moved closer to becoming a reality, I have heard the concerns expressed by some Texans about the vagueness in current law governing the Corridor,” Perry said. “HB 2702 will provide greater clarity and significant protections for property owners and ensure that they are treated fairly when the state must build new roads.” Under existing law, landowners who participate in the Trans Texas Corridor are already offered either a lump-sum payment for their land or long-term royalty payments similar to those offered in the oil and gas industry. HB 2702 provides additional economic assurances, including:

Under this bill, if a new road cuts through a landowner’s property, the state must offer to purchase a remaining tract of land if it has little or no value to the owner.

If the property loses value as a result of the TTC, the state must provide fair compensation for the damages, including those caused by inaccessibility problems.

The Texas Department of Transportation must periodically re-evaluate the need for building each segment of the Corridor to ensure that construction doesn’t begin until absolutely necessary.

When construction begins on a particular segment, the state will only be allowed to use property next to the Corridor for transportation-related facilities and the state is prohibited from condemning land along the TTC.

The State will be prohibited from extracting groundwater except for incidental on-site use.

Commercial development in the Corridor will be limited to gas stations and convenience stores, subject to local zoning ordinances and property taxes, to limit the negative impact to local businesses.

TxDOT will maintain oversight of toll rates so that those who choose to drive on the Corridor can know that they will pay a fair price.

The bill enacts as law Gov. Perry’s position that no tax-funded highways will be converted to toll roads unless approved by local voters.

TxDOT will have the legal authority to address freight and passenger rail issues, such as relocation projects.
“Today we are not only improving upon the Trans Texas Corridor plan by adding new protections, but by expanding the state’s ability to tackle complex transportation problems faster and cheaper,” Perry said.

Private/Public Partnerships

In July of 2005, Governor Perry gave a speech on the merits of private / public partnerships in transportation projects. The discussion revolved around Governor Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor Program and partnerships with foreign and San-Antonio Construction companies.

Gov. Rick Perry Speaks on Trans Texas Corridor
* Note: Gov. Perry frequently departs from prepared remarks.
Friday, July 22, 2005 • Speech
Thank you Commissioner Williamson. It is good to be here today with the U.S. Highway Administrator Mary Peters. With the innovative infrastructure projects we are building in Texas, we’re seeing a lot of Mary these days. It is also good to see friends in the Legislature (such as Chairman Mike Krusee), the executive chairman of Grupo Ferrovial, the parent company of Cintra, Rafael Del Pino, the president and chief operating officer of the Zachry Construction Corporation, David Zachry, the various representatives of Cintra-Zachary who are partnering with the state, and the executive director of TxDOT, Michael Behrens.
Today my vision for a private-public partnership to build a better, safer and more reliable transportation system is becoming a reality as the state signs a comprehensive development agreement with the Cintra-Zachry consortium to build segments of the Trans Texas Corridor stretching from Oklahoma to San Antonio. This development agreement is a significant step toward a better, more reliable transportation system that will move commuters and cargo faster and more safely, and create greater economic opportunities for our families and employers. The Trans Texas Corridor will remove hazardous cargo from the congested freeways our friends and loved ones drive on today. The Trans Texas Corridor will remove sources of pollution from city centers, and connect cities and towns all across Texas to important resources and commodities. But more than providing a new method to move people and goods faster, the Trans Texas Corridor is a huge jobs program that will put 140,000 Texans to work as we build the first six segments. And the Trans Texas Corridor will allow needed roads to be built faster, and ultimately cheaper, without any tax dollars being expended up front for construction.
In Texas, we’re not waiting on others to lead or innovate, we’re not afraid to ask how we can do things better, even if it’s different than how we have always done them, and we’re not going to accept a future marred by gridlock and growing pollution problems. The agreement signed today establishes a cost-effective partnership with proven private sector entities. At the same time, much is left to be decided, and the public will have a thorough opportunity to continue giving their input. The route has not been designated, the environmental review is ongoing, the price for driving on the corridor has not yet been determined, and negotiations with landowners have yet to begin. But I think it is important to be clear on one important point: this state is committed to making all the necessary improvements to I-35, and that is non-negotiable. At the same time, everyone would be wise to realize that we can’t expand I-35 fast enough or wide enough to keep up with growth and traffic. The only solution is a new corridor with room for future growth, and that involves much lower acquisition costs than expensive real estate that is adjacent to I-35 today.
For my fellow farmers and ranchers, and other landowners on the eventual route, there will be fair compensation, and even a unique chance to participate in corridor proceeds, much like royalty payments paid to landowners who have oil and gas wells on their property. When you consider the alternatives, the Trans Texas Corridor is truly the best choice for Texas. The state would have to raise the gas tax by about a dollar to keep up with the needs of growth, and the gas tax hits all Texans the same even though some Texans, especially rural Texans, don’t receive the same benefit in terms of new roads. Second, Texas receives only 86 cents back for every dollar we send to Washington. And while we hope to get more federal funding in the future, we can’t base our future on it. The third option, doing nothing differently, will simply lead to more accidents, more pollution and more congestion headaches as millions more Texans fill our roads in the years to come.
We have no better choice than public-private partnerships. They are the wave of the future because they are faster, cheaper and fairer, charging a cost only to those who use toll roads. If you don’t want to pay a toll in Texas, you will always be able to drive the same free roads you’re driving today. Just as the interstate highway system was an essential element to the growth and prosperity of our economy over the last 50 years, the Trans Texas Corridor will greatly expand the economy of the next fifty years. It is truly vital to creating jobs, wealth and opportunity because it will better connect Texas to trading partners, and ensure the reliable movement of people and products in our time-sensitive economy. Those who said it couldn’t be done just didn’t realize that we Texans are used to doing things bigger, better and first. And with $7.2 billion on the table from Cintra-Zachry to build the first six segments, Texas is taking the lead in partnering with the private sector to achieve the public good. Thank you.

Opposition to the plan

Opposition to the plan was based on a large array of concerns. These included:

Cost - the program was estimated in 2002 to cost between US $145.2 Billion to $183.5 Billion
Eminent Domain / Property Rights - the plan required about 584,000 acres to be purchased or acquired
Environmental - the corridors are very wide and may disrupt wildlife
Noise - estimates were that land around the corridor would be unusable within 1 mile
Security - some believed that the system would be linked to a super-highway between the US and Mexico

"Canceling" of the plan

The plan faced stiff opposition from the beginning and by 2006, the official position of both Republican and Democratic politicians was to oppose the plan. In 2006 Cintra_Zachry announced that the best course of action may be the "no-build" course. By January of 2009, Governor Perry was referring to the plan as "dead" in his official blog. However, when asked about the plan only days later while on a trip to Iraq, Governor Perry stated that the name was killed, but highway construction continued.

The name 'Trans Texas Corridor' is over with. We’re going to continue to build roads in the state of Texas. Our options are fairly limited, due to Washington’s ineffectiveness from the standpoint of being able to deliver dollars, or for the Legislature to raise the gas tax.

References

[1] Website: Official Website - Governor of the State of Texas Article: Press Release - Governor Rick Perry Unveils 'Trans Texas Corridor' Plan Author: NA Accessed on: 05/10/2010

[2] Website: Corridor Watch Article: Corridor Watch Author: NA Accessed on: 05/10/2010

[3] Website: Dallas News Article: Perry: TxDOT killed Trans Texas Corridor name, not initiative Author: CHRISTY HOPPE Accessed on: 05/10/2010

[4] Website: Politifact Article: Perry campaign says in blog that Trans-Texas Corridor is dead Author: NA Accessed on: 05/10/2010

[5] Website: Gulag Bound Article: The Phony Right-Wing, Part 5: James Richard �Rick� Perry Author: Kelleigh Nelson Accessed on: 07/26/2011

[6] Website: World Net Daily Article: Texas governor clears way for NAFTA superhighway Author: Jerome Corsi Accessed on: 07/27/2011